Powers and Exponents - If the exponent is negative, such as...

Powers and Exponents An exponent is a positive or negative number placed above and to the right of a quantity. It expresses the power to which the quantity is to be raised or lowered. In 4 3 , 3 is the exponent and 4 is called the base. It shows that 4 is to be used as a factor three times. 4 × 4 × 4 (multiplied by itself twice). 4 3 is read as four to the third power (or four cubed ). Remember that x 1 = x and x0 = 1 when x is any number (other than 0).

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Unformatted text preview: If the exponent is negative, such as 3 2 , then the base can be dropped under the number 1 in a fraction and the exponent made positive. An alternative method is to take the reciprocal of the base and change the exponent to a positive value. Example 1 Simplify the following by changing the exponent from a negative value to a positive value and then evaluate the expression....
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